ahci mode for ssd

[meballsa]

Hi ive just been getting my first ssd drive a Samsung 840 evo but the magician software I get with it is telling me I need to activate ahci mode for the best performance
My motherboard is a gigabyte G31M-ES2L and does not have an option in the bios to change it
The ssd is working but I just feel its not as fast as it could be and the software is sort of confirming this

[parsec]

[meballsa]

Re: ahci mode for ssd

Thanks for the reply parsec I thought as I couldn't find a solution anywhere this might be the case the question is would replacing the motherboard be worth the performance gain I would get on my ssd esp as it would mean a new cpu to go with it as its a 775 socket and looking on ebuyer there wastnt a lot of choice

[parsec]

Re: ahci mode for ssd

Whether or not it is worth getting a new board and CPU just for the SSD depends upon what you use the PC for.

If you are constantly doing a lot of IO from the SSD, then a new board (with SATA III too) will speed things up, but the difference will normally be a matter of several seconds for the typical user. SSDs are so much faster than HDDs even without AHCI/NCQ, you won't see a huge difference changing to a new board and CPU.

If you know someone that uses SSDs with a new, SATA III board, see how their system is and if it is much faster than yours. Only you can decide if it is worth it to you.

[profJim]

Re: ahci mode for ssd

For about $50 - $75, you could buy a used P35 motherboard from CraigsList, ebay, or locally.
My Samsung 840 Pro and 830 ssd's have excellent performance in my P35-DS3L, P35-DS4 and EP45-UD3P systems.
Obviously my systems are somewhat limited by each board's sata2 bandwidth, but this is not a problem.

[parsec]

Re: ahci mode for ssd

Prof Jim, you're recommending those boards because they have AHCI support, correct?

meballsa, any socket 775 boards that have Intel RAID support will also have AHCI support, so finding RAID support will also tell you it will have AHCI support.

[profJim]

Re: ahci mode for ssd

Prof Jim, you're recommending those boards because they have AHCI support, correct?

meballsa, any socket 775 boards that have Intel RAID support will also have AHCI support, so finding RAID support will also tell you it will have AHCI support.

Yes, the lower end P35-DS3L bios allows you to enable or disable AHCI mode, but it does NOT support raid mode.
I'm not familiar with the features or specs for P31, G31, G33, Q33 or Q35 motherboards.

At the GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 775 web page you can click on P35 link which will then include a list of all of the Gigabyte P35 models with additional links to each model's web page where you can check features, specs, and download the motherboard's user manual for more detailed information.